Summoning Sakura
by UNCPanda
Summary: Sakura has not only made a name for herself as a medic but as a Master Summoner as well. Take a look at how Sakura comes to gain each of her summons and find love along the way. ShikaSaku ShikamaruXSakura
1. Monkey Around

"Why can't you find somebody else to teach you."

"Ebisu-sensei is scared of monkeys."

"What about Asuma-sensei?"

"They don't like him. Apparently he said some very rude things to them when grandpa first tried to teach him."

Sakura sighed as she stared down at Konohamaru, it was like having another Naruto around. Sakura sighed, that knucklehead teammate of hers had already been gone for six months. "I just don't have the time right now Konohamaru."

The boy immediately frowned and then a grin came over his face. "You don't know how to do it, do you?"

Sakura felt her cheeks flush "I can too."

Konohamaru laughed "Cannot."

"Can to!"

"You cannot, you cannot, you cannot!"

Sakura brought her fist down on his head before he could say anything else. "I can to, now let's go." She grabbed the back of his scarf and started dragging him, large scroll and all to training ground three.

Settling down in front of the memorial stone Sakura unrolled the scroll and began sorting through all the information she had read and learned about summoning. You had to sign a contract and the signature had to be in blood. After that you had to offer a sacrifice of blood, from the hand you had signed the contract with, and then go through the hand signs while molding your chakra and then pressing your hand to a flat surface. Who knew those books on summoning she had rented from the library would come in handy.

Sakura read the names on the scroll; they were all a part of the Sarutobi clan. Sakura turned to Konohamaru "Bite your thumb and sign your name. "

Konohamaru nodded and did as instructed and then went through the hand signs as Sakura directed him and then slammed his hand on the ground. Nothing happened. He turned towards to her "I knew you didn't know how to do it."

Sakura scowled "Go to the library and ask the librarian for the book about summoning. Mention my name, she'll know what it is."

"But nee-chan."

She pointed "GO!" he was off running the next minute as Sakura went back to studying the scroll.

"What are you doing?" Sakura jumped a bit at the voice and turned to stare at Shikamaru. She hadn't seen much of the rookie nine lately. She was one fourth of a team that didn't exist anymore and she had no desire to be reminded of what she now lacked.

"I'm studying a summoning contract."

He squatted beside her "The Money clan contract? This belongs to the Sarutobi clan. Asuma-sensei griped about it when Ino asked him to teach her how to summon."

"I'm helping Konohamaru, but it didn't work."

Shikamaru looked at the scroll and pointed "He didn't put down his finger prints; the contract needs them to be complete."

Sakura huffed "The books say nothing about fingerprints."

"Probably to prevent the people who don't know what they're doing from making a mistake; if you don't believe me just look."

Sakura glanced out of the corner of her eye at the previous signatures; sure enough there were the fingerprints. Sakura glared at Shikamaru; he didn't acknowledge it. Sakura growled and brought her thumb to her mouth and bit. That got his attention "What are you doing?"

Sakura didn't even look at him "Showing you that I know what I'm doing." Finishing with her name Sakura pressed blood to her other fingers and pressed it on to the scroll and then began going through the hand signs; steadily molding her chakra before slamming her hand on the ground "Kuchiyose no Jutsu."

A puff of smoke rose from the air and Sakura came face to face with a monkey a foot taller than she was. He attacked a moment later and Sakura immediately brought her arms up to block a punch that sent her back and through a tree. Then the monkey was attacking again hitting Sakura quicker than she could block until she was on the ground pinned starring up into the eyes of the monkey "How can a Kunoichi so weak summon me? My name is Enma, and I am the King of the Monkey clan, and unless you can beat me we have no contract."

A moment later he was gone in a puff of smoke and Shikamaru was at her side "Now I get why Asuma-sensei didn't like them." He helped Sakura sit up and she wiped some blood from her forehead.

She turned towards Shikamaru "I'm going to beat him."

"Sakura. . ."

"I'm not talking about right now, but once I'm done training with Tsunade Shishou, I'm gonna summon him again and then I'm going to beat him."

Shikamaru sighed "Troublesome, but I guess it can't be helped."

Sakura's brow furrowed "What?"

"You're going to need someone to spar with, and truthfully I need it to. I have to make sure that what happened when we went after Sasuke never happens again."

"Shikamaru."

"So we may as well help each other out." He extended his hand out to her and she took it and he pulled her to her feet. "Let's meet here an hour before sunset every Tuesday and Thursday."

Sakura smiled and nodded as her name was called from a little bit away. "Sakura nee-chan! I got the book!" Konohamaru stopped in front of her panting and sweating. Then he looked at her "What happened?"

Sakura grinned sheepishly "I might have accidently signed the contract."

"WHAT?"

"And I might have accidently summoned Enma."

"WHAT?"

"And he might have beaten me in a fight."

"WHAT? Nee-chan how could you?"

"That doesn't matter, what matters is, I need to hang on to the contract for just a bit."

Konohamaru shook his head "No way I can't do that."

Sakura raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms across her chest "So your mother knows you have this scroll then?"

The boy very quickly looked away "Not exactly."

Sikamaru joined the conversation "And we know Asuma doesn't have anything to do with it, and if I had to guess the Third probably had this hidden and the only reason you know where it is, is because he showed you." Konohamaru didn't answer "I thought so. So in the mean time you're going to let Sakura keep it safe for you."

Konohamaru finally nodded his head before heading home, muttering about unfair, blackmailing, comrades.

It would be a year and four months later, two months before Naruto came home that Sakura would summon the Monkey King again, and this time she was ready. She didn't even give him a chance to get used to his surroundings before throwing a punch that sent him through into the water. Sakura wasted no time in following up the attack with another. The fight went on for two hours until Enma called an end to it, and held out his hand for a handshake in symbolism of his acceptance of her as a summoner of the Monkey clan.

The only ones to witness the fight were Shikamaru and Konohamaru. "My mom's gonna kill me."

Shikamaru yawned "You've kept it quiet for nearly two years what makes you think she's going to find out now."

"Enma likes to train. He and granddad would train at least once a week together and he loves to be called into battle; crazy old monkey."

Shikamaru just shook his head and stared down as Enma began pointing and directing Sakura in something. This defiantly wouldn't stay quiet for long.

* * *

This is based off of chapter 48 of my fanfic 80 Day challenge. It won't follow it exactly, but it carries the general idea.


	2. Slow as a Slug

Tsunade stared at Sakura waiting for the girl to do as she was told "Well?"

Sakura grinned a bit sheepishly "Well, Shishou, you see . . ."

"Don't tell me you're giving in before you even sign the contract?"

"No, it's not that, it's just . . ."

"Have you read the texts?"

"Of course I did Shishou, each one."

"And you've practiced molding your chakra?"

"Yes."

"Then there should be no problem!"

"But Shishou . . ."

NO BUTS! Get a move on girl, before I get old!"

Sakura jumped a bit before jogging over to the scroll the Hokage had laid out. Memories flooded over her as she bit her thumb and began writing her name. One again she followed it by pressing the blood to her finger prints and pressing them down below her name. When that was done she looked up at Tsunade.

The woman raised an eyebrow "Well? Get on with it!"

Sakura nodded and began flying through the seals, molding her chakra and then as she reached the last one she stopped; fear of the past repeating itself stopping her cold and before Tsunade could stop her she was gone.

For a brief second Tsunade contemplated following her new apprentice and then she smiled; the girl would come around, and when she had she would find her and she would show her. Until then she saw no reason why she couldn't go and get some sake.

Breathing heavily Sakura finally stopped, landing right next to the Dango shop. Leaning against the wall she tried to calm her heart. "Just finish a marathon?"

Sakura turned her head towards the voice a scowled. Shikamaru stood there, a plate full of dango in hand. "You could say that." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow in question "I might have run away from a summoning lesson with Shishou."

"I thought you already signed a contract with the monkeys?"

"Yeah and that turned out so well."

Shikamaru sighed and turned "Come on."

"Hunh?"

"This is going to be a long story, I can tell, so let's find somewhere shady where I can eat dango and you can tell it.

Sakura followed behind him until they came to the park. Sitting under a large oak Sakura began to tell her story "I tried to tell Shishou that I had already signed a contract, but she wouldn't let me get a word in."

Shikamaru took a bite of dango "Like all women."

She glared at him for the comment before continuing "I did all the steps; signed my name on the scroll and went through the hand signs and on the last one I just stopped. Memories of summoning Enma came back and I just froze; of him coming out and kicking my ass, of him calling me weak. I got scared."

Shikamaru stopped eating and stared at her "Yeah but not of what you think." Sakura stared at him and he continued "You're not scared of summoning the,"

"Slug" Sakura provided

"The slug, you're scared of being called weak. You hate that you may not live up to the Hokage's expectations."

Sakura turned away from Shikamaru's gaze as he stood. A second later a stick of dango was in her face and Sakura looked up to meet his gaze one more time "Eat this and then go summon the slug. What's the worst that can happen?"

Sakura smiled "I get squashed by a giant slug."

"And you still meet the expectations of your superior."

Sakura smiled and Shikamaru smiled back and then he was gone. Taking a bite of dango Sakura carefully contemplated Shikamaru's words and when she was done with her dango she brushed off her pants and returned to the clearing.

Tsunade was on her fifth drink when Shizune had shown up at the bar and dragged her out. It was when they were about halfway back to the tower and Shizune was only a fifth of the way through her usual rant that a large gust of wind and smoke stopped them cold. Turning in the direction of the smoke Tsunade smiled "Not Katsuya, close."

Shizune smiled, staring in the same direction "Amane is the third largest Tsunade-sama. Not to mention she's Katuya's daughter."

Tsunade nodded "We'll work on enlarging her chakra stores next. In the meantime let her practice some more."

Shizune nodded "It'll give you time to get your paper work done."

And suddenly the female Hokage was heading towards her newest pupil "then again a little one on one could help her get there quicker."


	3. Barking Up the Right Tree

Sakura exited the tent sick to her stomach, the smell of death making her sick. Stumbling a bit she walked away from the OR tent, praying for fresh air. Reaching the wall that had been built she sank down to sit on the ground; after all what was a little dirt mixed in with some blood. Closing her eyes Sakura did her best to block out the sounds of the war. She was just about to nod off when a soft whimper reached her ears.

Opening her eyes she scanned the area and found nothing. When the sound came again Sakura forced herself to stand up. Once again she looked around and found nothing. Moving closer to the fence she pressed her ear against the wood and listened. The whimpering has louder, which meant it was on the other side of the fence. Her curiosity getting the better of her she glanced at the Akimichi guard at the entrance and knew there was no way she was getting by him without a scene. So she did the next best thing.

Biting her thumb Sakura went through the hands signs and then silently pressed her hand upon the ground. A puff of smoke arose and she jumped back as the Monkey King came at her. Bringing up her arms to block his attack, before jumping in the air and landing on the Monkey's back. "I didn't call you here to spar."

He turned his head to stare at the girl "You didn't send a larger burst of chakra than normal; which meant there's no battle."

Sakura nodded "Correct."

"And you didn't call me here to spar?" Sakura nodded again "Then what the hell am I doing here? Where the hell is here? And would you get off my back, you're heavy!"

Sakura scowled but slid from the Monkey's back and quickly explained what was going on; she had hoped to spare the Monkey clan from this fight and more importantly herself from a rant about what it meant to be from Konoha. Taking a deep breath Sakura began explaining; about Konoha, about its destruction, about Pein, about the Hokage summit and Danzo and about the war and finally the imposters.

"Why the hell didn't you summon me sooner, I could have done something!"

Sakura began counting to ten in her head "No you couldn't. There was nothing any of us could do."

"You don't know that, and look at you; you look like you have a foot in the grave. When was the last time you ate, you're looking thin."

Sakura smiled, Enma had a habit of being a mother hen when he saw her. Making sure that her wounds were always tended to after their spars; no matter how many times she told him she was medic and knew what she was doing he wouldn't listen. "There are a lot of wounded; I've got fix them up just so they can go out and die." Sakura sat down again

Enma sat down beside her; she could only imagine how strange it looked; a medic and her monkey. A moment later a furry hand was patting her head "I remember Hiruzen during the second shinobi war. A lot of times he'd only call me in-between battles, just so he could talk to someone. It made him feel better."

"Thank you Enma."

"No problem Pinkie."

"I do have one favor to ask though."

Enma pulled his hand back "What do you need."

"There's something whimpering on the other side of the fence, whimpering," she went quiet allowing the Monkey King to listen. A moment later the sound came.

"You want me to go and see what it is."

Sakura nodded "I can't go on the other side of the fence because of the clones, but you can, I can make sure it's you by re-summoning you when you're done seeing what it is."

"I am not an errand monkey."

"Please Enma, please. I need something to focus on other than surgeries and blood and watching somebody die."

The Monkey King sighed and stood back up, "Listen for the smoke explosion." Climbed the fence and then went over the wall. Standing Sakura pressed her ear to the wall and listened as leaves crunched. A minute later she heard the puff; biting her thumb one more time she went through the hand signs and pressed her hand to the ground one more time.

Another puff of smoke came up and Enma reappeared, a disgusted look on his face and a basket full of . . . "Are those puppies?"

Enma sighed "Yes. Most nin-dogs are very loyal and loving summons, but in some of the original packs, if a runt is born then they're usually abandoned."

Sakura reached forward to take one of the tiny puppies dangling from Enma's arms. It was a German Shepard puppy "He can't be more than five days old, his eyes aren't even open yet." She cuddled the puppy close to her, to warm him. "Probably only been on their own for a few hours."

Enma nodded "The original dog clans are probably taking advantage of the war."

"Are we sure they're nin-dogs."

Enma nodded "They have a chakra network; its small but it's there. What do you want to do with them Sakura?"

Sakura stared at the puppies hanging in Enma's arms. There were seven including the German Shepard in her arms; a Husky, a Blood Hound, a Dalmatian, a Golden Retriever, a Shiba Inu, and a bearded collie. "I'll take care of them." The words were out of her mouth before she had truly considered the meaning.

"Are you sure Sakura?"

Hesitating only a moment she nodded and Enma sighed "Where's your tent?"

She pointed "Over there, why?"

"I'm gonna go take them there, you go find some spare blankets, a basket and a warm water bottle. Sakura watched Enma go before going to find what she was told, and to find Shizune and tell her what was going on.

* * *

It has been so weird not updating a story every day. Anyways, there will be a few chapters centered around the dogs. I love them :)


	4. A Ruff Visit

Sakura ignored the teeth pulling on her pants legs of as she ate. All the other puppies were inside her tent fast asleep, except these two. As teeth bit into flesh she looked down at the reason she couldn't get sleep even when she had a few minutes to spare; Daishiro, the German Shepard and Sachio, the Shiba Inu. They had been constant rivals for her affection over the past five weeks, determined to never leave her side; she had been forced to seal the flaps to her tent just to keep them from following her into the operating room.

Sighing she lowered her tray onto the ground transferring the attention from her pants legs to what remained of her portion of beef. A little over six weeks the puppies had begun eating solid food. Watching them go at it, Sakura lifted her legs and tucked them underneath herself, allowing herself to be content just watching the two eat as though their little lives depended on it.

Waiting until they had licked the tray clean Sakura bent over and took it before walking it over to the pile. Smiling at one of the gennin behind the lunch counter she took the container he held out and began walking back to her tent; Daishiro and Sachio right behind her. Walking to the other side of the compound where her tent lay Sakura was forced to pause every once in a while when one of the puppies would trip over their too big paws they had yet to grow into; and if those paws were any sign of how big they were going to get Sakura had a feeling that she was going to have to move.

Approaching the tent Sakura paused at the sight of the broken seal on the tent flap. Two heads butted into her legs at the sudden stop and she looked down. Two sweet puppy faces looked back up at her, tails wagging against the dirt of the ground. They were cute as hell but that would do very little to scare off whoever was in her tent. Sakura held back a snort, as if they could do anything to anyone.

Quietly picking the two pups up by their scruffs she placed them to the side and held up her hand, it was one of the commands she had worked on relentlessly: STAY. The silent command was accompanied by two soft whines which she ignored.

Taking a kunai from her pouch Sakura masked her presence and began creeping towards the tent flaps. Taking a breath she burst through the flaps and slipped into a defensive position.

Sakura's eyes went straight towards the man sitting on her bed, the remaining puppies scattered on top of him, sleeping. The man looked up from his book and smiled at her, and with his usual eye wink and salute he said "Hey."

With her eye twitching Sakura put away her kunai and scowled "Sensei, what are you doing here?"

"No inquisition, you really should be more diligent about questioning men who just show up in your tent." Staring at her he put away his book and smiled with that eye wink again

"Those plants aren't cocky enough to just wait for me while lying out on my cot." Sakura sighed, moving towards the man she sat down on the edge of her cot and quickly moved Akeno, the blood hound to the side, and down to the mass of blankets near the head of her bed which had become the dogs' bed. Jio, the husky followed suite without any prompt and with his lead, Kotaro, the Dalmatian, Leiko, the Golden Retriever, and Koi the Bearded Collie followed.

Kakashi's eye followed the dogs, watching them for a minute before turning his attention back to her. "I see you've gained some new followers."

Sakura hmmm an agreement as she unzipped his flak vest and lifted his blood stained shirt to stare at a badly bandaged wound to his abdomen. "You should have gone straight to the medical tent instead of waiting for me."

He grunted as she peeled away the bandage, undoing the clotting, before covering the wound again with her hands and allowing her chakra to surge through the wound mending the skin, nerves and cells. "They would have kept me for too long, this needs to be a quick trip, and I need to get back."

"So you weren't checking up on me?"

"Of course not." Sakura didn't push the issue "You plan on using them as ninkin?"

"Still thinking about it, I'm not quite sure yet, they're still young."

"That's the best time to start training them, best time to make them a pack, best time to make a contract, best time to,"

Sakura interrupted him with a small laugh "I get it, this is the best time."

"And lucky for you I have a bit of time now."

Sakura smiled as she focused on healing him and began making idle chitchat. Finishing up she wrapped a bandage around his abdomen just in case. "You're going to need to take it easy; I didn't have enough chakra left to toughen the skin, so it'll probably be a bit sensitive."

Kakashi nodded and Sakura rolled her eyes; it had gone in one ear and out the other, just like always. "Wait here a second and I'll get a cream that should be able to help sooth any pain." Kakashi nodded and Sakura left through the tent flaps. She was greeted by Daishiro and Sachio and she bent down to scratch behind the dogs' ears, a small apology for forgetting them and then continued on to the supply tent.

Fetching what she needed she returned to an empty tent, her eyes going to her cot. There sat two scrolls. Picking up the first one she began reading as the dogs began climbing up onto the bed, Daishiro draping himself over her lap.

_Sakura,_

_ I already went ahead and paw printed and bled the dogs here. All that's left is for you to do the remaining two. Then prick one of the toe pads and have them press it beneath. After that sign the contract as you would any other. After that make hand signs and they'll go to Inu no Yama, wait a few minutes and then summon them back. After that they'll be "registered" and from there you have a ninkin pack. _

_ -Kakashi _

_P.S. Start teaching them to talk now, or else it's a pain in the butt._

Sakura smiled and reached down to rub Daishiro's belly and smiled as she looked over her rag tag ninkin crew. This was gonna be fun.

* * *

I blame School for my long absence. Anyways I hope you enjoyed it.


	5. Hiding Under the Table

Slamming her locker closed Sakura rolled her shoulders back to relieve some of the pain. She had been hunched over a surgical table for three hours and then she had been hunched over a microscope for an additional two and now she was paying the price. She stretched one more time for good measure.

Trotting out of the hospital Sakura relaxed as warm and humid air hit her. Summer was in full swing in Konoha, and while most of the village had been rebuilt in the three years since the end of the war, some things had yet to be completed. Sakura didn't mind though, she loved seeing what was left of the old mixed with the new. Taking her time on the walk, she eventually made it home.

Quietly unlocking the door, Sakura stepped into the apartment and was met by silence; unusual for the mess and noise that usually greeted her. Shrugging her pack to the ground, she proceeded to slip out of her shoes and walk into the living room; where she was greeted with floors covered in muddy paw prints. Sakura groaned before scanning the seemingly empty room for the perpetrators. She assumed that most of them were either hiding at Naruto's or Inu no Yama; well all except for the one furry butt hanging out from under the kitchen table. Padding into the kitchen the knelt down to find a mud covered Koi.

Sakura sighed as Koi turned to face her. He was a shaggy dog, a cuddle bug, with a sweet temper and could take down the enemy in a blink of an eye. He was also the least likely, out of the pack, to cause trouble. Sakura wasn't even going to ask what had happened, she already had a good idea; no doubt it involved the other dogs, a dare, and the steady rainfall outside. Still that was no reason for Koi to be hiding under the table. When he did something wrong, a very rare thing indeed, he always owned up to it; meeting her at the door with his head hanging low and giving her the puppy dog eyes that had made Tsunade dote on him as though he were her lost child, just returned.

Reaching out Sakura placed her hand on top of the dog's head, startling him enough to turn and face her. He relaxed when he saw her, scooting on his belly to lay his head on her thigh. That was ruined by a flash of lightning and a loud clap of thunder. He was immediately tense and it took Sakura few minutes to call him down, running her hands though his fur and whispering soft words.

A memory flashed in Sakura's mind; days after the final battle she had been reassigned to the medical camp, tending to the wounded, when a rather bad storm had broken out. She had been mid operations when a howl had sounded through the tent followed by barking. She had been forced to refocus on the task at hand, finishing as quickly as she could, before going out side to find Koi; sitting outside the tent soaking wet and shaking. Sakura had proceeded back to her tent, to snuggle under the covers, with a towel wrapped Koi, and the other dogs surrounding them. He had been scared of thunder storms ever since. It wasn't practical for a nin-dog, then again fear never was.

Koi said nothing as they sat there and the storm raged on, and Sakura just lay there, using the dog as a pillow while running her fingers through his fur in an attempt at comforting him; until she finally fell asleep.

"Sakura . . .Sakura, wake up." Sakura did her best to ignore the voice, though it seemed to be getting increasingly annoyed. "Sakura, if you don't wake up, eventually I'm going to bleed on your new hardwood floors."

Sakura cracked open an eye to stare at Shikamaru, and for a brief minute in time she thought about hog tying him and leaving him out as a chew toy for the other dogs; until she saw the bloody mess that was supposed to be his arm. Sliding out from under the table, she sat the Nara down in one of her kitchen chairs before heading to the cupboard where she kept emergency medical supplies.

Standing next to him she cut the sleeve from his arm before dowsing it in hydrogen peroxide. Shikamaru let out a yelp, followed by a string of curses and a glare. Sakura ignored him; hydrogen peroxide was the quickest way to disinfect a cut, and with her chakra supply still depleted from her hospital shift she was going to need what she had just to close the wound. It went from his shoulder and down past his elbow; it was ragged with tearing, and would leave a scar no matter her ability.

Shikamaru sighed in relief as the pain started to disappear; Sakura had numbed the nerve endings in his arm. The nuke-nin he had faced on his way home had had one hell of a blade, and had seemed pretty determined to test it out on him. He had already lost a good amount of blood by the time he had made it to the gate, and Sakura's apartment was closer to the gate then the hospital. He had been close to passing out when he had found the kunoichi asleep underneath her kitchen table; but now he was wide awake, the peroxide doing a better job than his mother ever had at waking him up.

A cold nose pressed against his hand, dragging him out of his thoughts. Looking down he stared into black eyes partly covered by hair; Shikamaru smiled at the dog before using his good hand to scratch behind the dog's ears.

Shikamaru was not a dog fan, they barked too much, always had to be near a person, and then there was the issue of being chased by one of the Inuzuka dogs when he was a kid. Koi however, was a very chill and relaxed dog; when the rest of Sakura's pack was running around; chasing squirrels, Koi was lying around, basking in the sun or occasionally wading around in the water if it got too hot. Koi was his kind of dog. "Where are the others?"

Sakura grunted and he turned in time to see her shrug her shoulders. He turned to Koi and raised an eyebrow. The dog shook his head. "They'll turn up sooner or later. My best guess is that they're covered in mud and know better than to come home."

"Koi is covered in mud."

The dog whined "An exception was made for Koi, there were extenuating circumstances." Sakura provided. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Anyways, he's about to get a bath, while you go lie on the couch."

Shikamaru glanced at his arm, and the new jagged scar. The area was still pink and puffy, which meant Sakura had most likely gotten off of work only a few hours ago. It also meant that her chakra reserves were now depleted. It was best not to argue then, she got cranky when she was tired.

Settling on the couch he watched as Sakura dragged Koi from underneath the table and picked the now grown dog up as though he were a puppy and disappear into the bathroom. He heard water running and whimpering from Koi, then a reassurance about the thunder and lightning being over. He heard Koi quietly agree, the dog as soft voiced as ever and Shikamaru smiled before settling into sleep.

It took Sakura and hour to get Koi clean and dry and then another half hour to clean out the tub. When she finally made it back into her living room, Shikamaru was asleep on the couch with Koi draped over his legs. Settling down into the over sized arm chair Sakura was able to get another full hour of sleep in before Naruto charged in, alongside her dogs; all of them covered in mud.

Shikamaru and Koi awoke to Sakura yelling in the bathroom. Approaching cautiously they found Naruto and the remaining six dogs piled into the bath tub as Sakura poured water over their heads rinsing away the soap as she continued to fuss.

Closing the door quietly behind them, Shikamaru looked down at Koi, to find the dog looking up at him. "This was a bad dream."

Koi nodded "Agreed."

* * *

It took me a while to know where I was going with this chapter, I knew I wanted a Shikamaru appearance and I knew I wanted something funny at the end. The idea of Naruto in the tub with the dogs came to mind. I thought it was funny. I also liked the idea of having just one of the dogs as the center of attention; one that was just sweet as could be and had his fears, but was ready to fight when need be. To me that screamed Koi; and so it was! So what do ya think?


	6. Dog Gone Date

Daishiro watched as Sakura ran around the house, looking very much the part of a girl getting ready for a first date. A date with a man that Daishiro and the rest of the pack couldn't stand. It was also the reason why Sachio and Akeno were standing by the door, waiting to bark and scare the life out of the man coming to take _their_ Sakura out on a date.

The loud bang thumbed against the door and Sachio and Akeno went at it barking nice and loud, the others waited a minute and then they joined in. Sakura appeared in the doorway of her room a moment later slipping on black pumps and Daishiro's eyes narrowed, meeting her eyes. She met the stare right back and after a few seconds he looked away.

Then his attention was right back on her as she pushed through the rest of the pack to get to the door and open it. Standing on the other side was some snobby guy from the hospital he had seen once or twice but had heard more than enough about. The guy liked to sleep around, and that was fine as long as it wasn't with Sakura. Nope he wouldn't allow that mess of a man to use and dump the woman that had raised him from a pup, who had saved him and his pack.

Watching her slip out the door he made eye contact with Sachio and they both nodded. They had to get that guy away from Sakura and there was only one way to do that.

Naruto had been nearly asleep when a scratching at his door had wakened him up. Ignoring it he had almost gotten back to sleep when the howling had started and not for the first time he cursed Sakura's dogs. Most of the time they didn't bother him; but when he was trying to get to sleep after being awake for more than four days he got a bit testy. Opening the door he glared down at the dogs. "WHAT?!"

A few of them took a step back, but Daishiro and Sachio didn't, Daishiro was the alpha, Sachio the beta, they didn't back down; except to Sakura. Daishiro proved this by looking him in the eyes and giving him an order "Sakura is on some date with slime from the hospital, you need to get Kakashi and Sai and put a stop to it."

Naruto winced, Sakura was like a sister to him, a sister that was very dear to him; and because of that he had interfered with one of her dates once before. ONCE. He couldn't stop the shutter that ran through his body. Never again, and he had no problem telling the pack that and closing the door in their face. Sometimes Naruto couldn't help but wonder if the ninkin pack remembered they were still dogs when it came down to it.

Daishiro stared at the door, growled and wondered if the rest of the hidden villages realized they could defeat the famous hero by just putting an angry Sakura Haruno in the boy's path. Either way the boy would not be helping them, which left them with no other choice, but ruining the date themselves. Giving one more bark at the door Daishiro turned and left, Sachio right beside him.

Shikamaru Nara knew it was a bad idea to keep going forward when he saw the dog crouching in the shadows with several others in his pack. It should have been his clue to turn around or take to the roof, anything but keep going forward. Apparently he had no self preservation around Sakura's puppies as she liked to call them. Crouching down behind the dogs, he waited to be noticed.

As always Daishiro was the first to notice him, and to growl at him. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow in question, before surveying the other two dogs with the pack leader; Koi and Jio. Koi was quick to trot over and sit by him while Shikamaru stared Daishiro down. "Do I want to know what you're doing?"

The dog was quick to answer "Probably not."

"Will there be bodily harm involved?"

"Perhaps."

"Chasing?"

"Most likely."

"Growling and snarling?"

The dog nodded "Yep."

Shikamaru sighed "You can't keep doing this."

"Don't know what you're talking about."

"Running off Sakura's dates."

The alpha snarled "Thought you didn't want to know."

"I didn't but it was easy enough to put together."

"He's a creep."

"Sakura can take care of herself."

"He's going to put moves on her."

"Sakura's smart and can take care of herself."

"The jackass was already bragging about his conquest."

Shikamaru paused at that his brain processing for only a second before lunging forward and grabbing the dog. "How'd you hear that?" Daishiro snarled and tried to wiggle out of his grasp. Shikamaru held on asking the question again, "How did you hear about it?

The dog snarled "Overheard two of the nurses talking about it on a smoke break."

Daishiro broke free and Shikamaru lunged forward again, making sure to grab the dog's scruff this time. "Then do you really think she doesn't know?" Daishiro stopped moving and Shikamaru went on "Think about it, Sakura basically runs that hospital, she knows everything that goes on there, including the gossip; she has too, to make sure that personal lives aren't interfering with work."

Jio spoke up "Then why would she go out with the slime ball?"

"To make him pay." Daishiro and Jio both turned to stare at the bearded collie and Shikamaru moved off the German Shepard, the quiet dog having taken over "His bragging could have effected how the staff view Sakura. While plenty of people believe in her and know how great she is there are still a few who think she got her position simply because of the Hokage and may think she's just an easy conquest. By taking him to the cleaners she eliminates a part of that."

Daishiro cursed before issuing an order to Jio "Get to Leiko and Kotaro, and tell them the plan is off and to meet back at the house. I'll get Akeno and Sachio." A second later the two dogs were gone leaving a now filthy Shikamaru and Koi.

Leaning against the alley way wall Shikamaru took out a cigarette and lit it, Koi settling down beside him. "It was nice of you to let her do this." Shikamaru grunted as the door to the restaurant across the street collapsed in to splinters as a man was thrown through it, an angry Sakura storming out right after, heading towards the man. Koi continued "Not many boyfriends would let them go out on a fake date just to teach a guy a lesson."

Shikamaru took a drag "It was either let her take care of it, or I would have. Her way didn't involve an untraceable poison that ended with digging a hole in the forest behind my parent's house."

"Never took you for the jealous type."

Sikamaru took another drag from the cigarette before smiling "I wasn't, till I met her. How long until the rest of the pack figures out we're dating."

"A few weeks probably, they can be quite dense on certain things that aren't said right out."

Shikamaru reached over and scratched behind the dog's ears before turning back to watch Sakura walk towards them, a pulverized doctor lying in a crater and Shikamaru couldn't help but smile.

* * *

I'm ALIVE! Seriously though, sorry it's been so long since there's been an update, my summer Spanish class is kicking my butt. Anyways expect updates to my other stories within the week!


	7. The Enemy has Breached the Perimeter

Daishiro made sure to keep eye contact with the creature in front of him, waiting till it blinked to turn and glare at Sakura and the other intruder. "How could you let this happen? How could you bring this thing into our home?"

Sakura sighed before turning from the stir fry she was cooking to stare at Daishiro. "We've been through this Dai, Shikamaru and I are together. He lives here now, it's been nearly a year now and you need to get over it."

Daishiro growled "Not that intruder, that's a totally different intruder that I am slowly but surely dealing with. He'll be gone in a matter of weeks."

Shikamaru turned a page of the newspaper he was reading, and not even glancing at the German Shepherd said "You've been saying that since you found out we were dating, seven months ago."

Sakura smiled "I think he secretly likes you Shika."

Daishiro let loose a series of barks in frustration before finishing with a growl "I do not like him! He is an intruder in our home and now to add insult to injury you bring that thing in here too!"

Sakura glanced at the white and pale orange tabby cat that had made herself at home on the couch. Curled up in a ball, the cat didn't even bother to acknowledge Daishiro, and she could tell it was making the dog mad. The others in the pack had taken off several hours ago when the cat, Haya, had refused to run away in their chasing game; stating, more than a little prideful, that cats didn't participate in useless shenanigans, something her dogs loved.

Slipping the apron off and over her head she laid it over Shikamaru's shoulder and kissed him on the cheek before slipping her coat on. Grabbing Daishiro, by the scruff, she dragged the dog away from the cat and out into the cool night air. She started walking, and being the dutiful and loyal dog he was Daishiro followed beside her.

Neither said anything until they came to a park and Sakura sat down on bench a little more than half way into the park. Daishiro sat beside her. After a few moments of silence Daishiro felt arms snake around him, as Sakura's head came to rest on his shoulder blade. His tongue rolling out of his mouth Daishiro licked Sakura's cheek.

Laughing Sakura sat up, one of her hands still rubbing at that spot behind Daishiro's ears. "This was the first place I brought you and the boys after the war was done. It was one of the few places that just seemed to be untouched and pure, and I thought you all deserved to see what that looked like."

""You blew off a few of your medical duties, we all ran and played all day. When we did stop it was under that big huge tree. We all piled together and just slept, and when Tsunade found us she curled right up too."

Sakura laughed, you guys were still growing into your paws at that point, you especially."

Daishiro barked once "I was not."

Sakura continued to laugh "Yes you were, your paws had grown a ton, meanwhile the rest was still so little, smaller than any of the others at the time. You'd start running, and be gaining speed and then you'd misstep and tumble over, but you never let it stop you, you'd pick yourself up and start it all over again." Daishiro huffed and Sakura smiled and hugged him again. "I'm sorry if you feel as though I've been ignoring you."

She watched as Daishiro's ears dropped for a second "You haven't been, not really, it's just a lot of change in very little time. I mean Shikamaru's ok, he's low maintenance, but a cat? They're never satisfied and just so freaking mean, not to mention they don't even have a clue as to what loyalty is!"

Sakura laughed again, hugging her dog "It's a summoning contract, Nekobaa says she doesn't have long, and wanted to pass down the contract. Apparently simply knowing Sasuke made me the main contender."

Daishiro put a paw on her leg "No, is a powerful word Sakura, a very useful word, it's time you learned it."

Sakura laughed before standing up "Let's go home, before dinner is ruined."

Hopping off the bench Daishiro stretched and said "Shikamaru probably already let it burn."

Smiling they began walking "Believe it or not he's actually made me dinner a few times."

"You're right I don't believe it."

"You like him and you know it."

"I'll never admit it in front of him."

"I'd expect no less."

"I just wanted to be clear."

With that they began their walk home.

Shikamaru heard them long before he saw them come through the door. It had become the norm in the seven months since the dogs had found out they were dating. Just like Koi had predicted it had taken the other dogs a while to find out about him. After a few weeks of growls and threats they had calmed down, even more so when he had actually moved in. The fact that his mother always brought treats for the dogs when ever she came over had also helped a bit. Daishiro had been the only one to continue to give him the cold shoulder and an evil eye.

Which is why it surprised him when the German Shepherd walked straight past the cat, and his other pack members who had gotten home moments before he and Sakura sat down in front of him. "You make her happy so you can stay. Just don't forget, that if you hurt her, you will never escape me."

Shikamaru nodded once "Understood."

Daishiro nodded to before standing on his hind legs. Using his front paws he put them on Shikamaru's shoulders and said "Now that you're part of the pack, I need you to think of a way to get rid of that cat."

A minute later he heard Sakura laugh and Shikamaru couldn't help but groan. Right before a very feminine voice said "In your dreams canine."

* * *

Wanted to have a one-shot with Daishiro, he's the alpha male, and Sakura's main companion; not that she loves any dog more than the other their personalities just seem to agree. He's Sakura's Pakkun. Just keep in mind that the dogs are only a few years old, and I suppose still in that puppy stage. Is there any particular dog that y'all are curious about, if so put him in your comments and I'll see if I can't make the next chapter about him!


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